Journal of Rangeland

Various methods have been proposed for determining rangeland suitability from different aspects. Although FAO’s method is the most widespread approach for determining rangeland suitability, it is very time consuming, not convenient and field and laboratory data hungry. Accordingly, it was necessary to devise a scientific, simple and cost-effective guideline for range mangers to assess rangeland suitability. The new proposed guideline for assessing range suitability from animal grazing aspect consists of three criteria of vegetation (20 points), water (15points), and soil (15points). This study aimed to evaluate this guideline in Hendovan mountainous region. The non-parametric Wilcoxon Test was used to compare the results obtained from this guideline with the findings gained by the FAO’s method. According to the results, forage production and the sensitivity of soil to erosion was identified as the most limiting factor for the grazing suitability in the both models.  Moreover, there was not any significant difference between the two methods regarding the levels of suitability. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed guideline is an appropriate method for recognizing and dividing the suitable and unsuitable areas for animal grazing. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness, time saving, simplicity and efficiency of the proposed model are remarkable in comparison with FAO’s method. This guideline will assist range experts in making "rangeland management plans" to achieve a sound grazing management.